Coonamessett Farm Foundation Inc.

Coonamessett Farm Foundation Inc., a Massachusetts-based nonprofit research organization, acts as a federal grant recipient delivering marine and fisheries research, ecosystem monitoring, and fisher training programs to support sustainable management of Atlantic commercial fisheries and marine species conservation. The foundation operates as a prime recipient on nearly all of its federal grant portfolio (93% of 46 awards), with minimal subcontract exposure, and concentrates its work under NOAA's Congressionally Identified Awards and Projects program (CFDA 11.469) and related fisheries research vehicles.

NOAA dominates the customer base, funding 42 of the foundation's 46 awards in its recent footprint. The four customer agencies—NOAA, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4, and the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy—account for 100% of awards. NOAA's concentration is near-total; the remaining three agencies collectively hold two awards totaling $307 thousand in combined potential value. Award activity has accelerated in recent years, with six awards in 2024 and four in 2025, following a sparse 2023 (one award). Five awards reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and face recompete.

The foundation's capability portfolio centers on sea scallop population dynamics, fisheries-independent and fisheries-dependent data collection, marine species ecology, and bycatch reduction. Representative recent work includes a $4 million NOAA Congressionally Identified Award (January 2025 through December 2027) to train Massachusetts commercial fishers to collect and disseminate oceanographic and fisheries data while advancing climate-change understanding; a $1.875 million NOAA award (January 2027 through December 2029) to identify and evaluate novel fisheries opportunities and assess gear strategies for Massachusetts fleets in partnership with commercial fishermen; a $277 thousand NOAA Unallied Science Program cooperative agreement (February 2025 through January 2027) for stable isotope analysis of cold-stunned sea turtles and distribution mapping within Massachusetts waters; and multiple project grants supporting annual optical surveys of Atlantic sea scallop biomass across Georges Bank and the Mid-Atlantic, seasonal ecosystem sampling to assess scallop abundance and bycatch rates, and gear-modification testing for flatfish bycatch reduction. The foundation also received a $277 thousand NOAA cooperative agreement and acts as a sub-recipient on electronic-monitoring implementation projects under the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, working to advance monitoring systems in the Atlantic sea scallop fishery across Massachusetts, New Jersey, and North Carolina. A Department of Energy cooperative agreement (October 2022 through October 2025) funds pre- and post-construction monitoring of commercial fish and marine invertebrate populations in offshore wind farm areas off Massachusetts and Rhode Island using non-lethal optical survey methods and machine-learning image analysis. The foundation also holds a Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service cooperative agreement (April 2024 through January 2027) to reduce seabird bycatch in Atlantic commercial fisheries through voluntary fishing practice modifications and outreach to fishermen operating out of Chatham, Massachusetts.

Place of performance is centered in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, with field work spanning the Atlantic coast, Georges Bank, the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and offshore wind development zones off Massachusetts and Rhode Island.